Hiring Trends by Industry 2026
Healthcare leads US hiring with 743,161 postings in the last month, followed by Hospitals and Health Care and Retail & Wholesale. Declining industries include Staffing and Recruiting, Technology, Information and Internet, Retail. Based on Canaria's analysis of 900M+ deduplicated job postings.
Monthly Job Postings by Industry
Top 8 industries by volume over the past 12 months
| Month | Healthcare | Hospitals and Health Care | Retail & Wholesale | Staffing and Recruiting | Technology, Information and Internet | Retail | IT Services and IT Consulting | Construction | Software Development | Manufacturing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 22 | 545,478 | 282,441 | 200,213 | 245,829 | 30,351 | 144,027 | 35,992 | 96,079 | 78,325 | 82,933 |
| Feb 22 | 527,934 | 259,108 | 183,899 | 282,934 | 27,630 | 182,695 | 37,128 | 99,788 | 66,071 | 78,388 |
| Mar 22 | 687,822 | 333,602 | 258,201 | 263,186 | 35,495 | 199,550 | 42,141 | 137,647 | 80,991 | 112,217 |
| Apr 22 | 1,236,777 | 670,531 | 324,586 | 498,321 | 94,836 | 348,869 | 99,201 | 190,545 | 191,893 | 187,869 |
| May 22 | 1,319,152 | 712,702 | 361,466 | 547,400 | 99,093 | 359,740 | 114,323 | 190,829 | 154,777 | 184,619 |
| Jun 22 | 1,338,024 | 705,997 | 348,447 | 637,015 | 73,272 | 350,919 | 112,638 | 190,803 | 151,052 | 186,403 |
| Jul 22 | 1,168,937 | 635,459 | 315,315 | 542,993 | 55,579 | 261,553 | 114,834 | 167,447 | 144,757 | 154,456 |
| Aug 22 | 1,113,789 | 543,388 | 306,806 | 287,020 | 55,231 | 299,904 | 78,214 | 141,674 | 112,545 | 137,085 |
| Sep 22 | 873,064 | 426,484 | 232,621 | 280,809 | 41,417 | 214,875 | 65,062 | 95,299 | 115,684 | 121,242 |
| Oct 22 | 979,029 | 509,240 | 265,243 | 368,945 | 32,378 | 229,196 | 71,303 | 115,007 | 131,009 | 109,072 |
| Nov 22 | 1,040,890 | 520,181 | 266,542 | 338,277 | 29,741 | 209,302 | 70,690 | 99,216 | 99,021 | 99,910 |
| Dec 22 | 936,781 | 466,941 | 195,027 | 245,581 | 22,563 | 157,107 | 45,705 | 91,595 | 63,505 | 77,314 |
| Jan 23 | 1,131,168 | 649,049 | 353,226 | 454,107 | 46,571 | 255,734 | 80,743 | 130,835 | 81,700 | 120,572 |
| Feb 23 | 1,222,980 | 777,780 | 382,640 | 593,796 | 89,573 | 362,595 | 130,193 | 133,230 | 249,759 | 231,764 |
| Mar 23 | 1,107,972 | 760,419 | 294,161 | 627,035 | 74,920 | 369,094 | 111,178 | 140,049 | 141,854 | 107,496 |
| Apr 23 | 828,238 | 703,536 | 248,126 | 771,020 | 167,616 | 412,601 | 119,353 | 142,322 | 70,868 | 114,199 |
| May 23 | 997,495 | 739,680 | 223,022 | 674,601 | 157,632 | 368,865 | 141,431 | 145,920 | 65,340 | 124,308 |
| Jun 23 | 1,025,709 | 924,447 | 237,497 | 736,562 | 208,293 | 373,998 | 149,016 | 158,251 | 64,765 | 132,314 |
| Jul 23 | 656,909 | 684,345 | 288,850 | 571,044 | 208,509 | 382,828 | 107,739 | 126,634 | 39,622 | 99,838 |
| Aug 23 | 694,953 | 892,611 | 192,945 | 928,639 | 169,711 | 294,494 | 107,166 | 117,828 | 48,524 | 98,870 |
| Sep 23 | 719,824 | 680,503 | 190,852 | 738,902 | 117,055 | 277,675 | 91,230 | 134,805 | 57,200 | 135,582 |
| Oct 23 | 1,279,770 | 1,017,796 | 342,897 | 1,557,307 | 190,574 | 452,462 | 166,573 | 199,416 | 115,142 | 222,006 |
| Nov 23 | 1,090,641 | 899,533 | 272,741 | 1,557,458 | 122,770 | 295,259 | 129,701 | 149,403 | 72,191 | 141,363 |
| Dec 23 | 728,891 | 571,999 | 180,677 | 752,604 | 106,346 | 180,167 | 71,555 | 103,954 | 46,130 | 93,961 |
| Jan 24 | 1,377,746 | 1,430,424 | 252,124 | 1,603,506 | 101,005 | 335,089 | 123,289 | 175,336 | 69,686 | 158,750 |
| Feb 24 | 1,727,522 | 2,125,540 | 269,514 | 1,908,562 | 120,366 | 338,683 | 165,052 | 195,567 | 80,910 | 168,387 |
| Mar 24 | 1,394,014 | 1,654,900 | 264,350 | 1,611,931 | 91,599 | 284,730 | 145,509 | 192,449 | 69,914 | 133,344 |
| Apr 24 | 818,800 | 855,110 | 230,131 | 626,974 | 92,617 | 234,390 | 102,201 | 157,164 | 64,120 | 115,413 |
| May 24 | 919,719 | 1,970,524 | 207,984 | 964,939 | 138,488 | 356,071 | 154,329 | 155,417 | 125,572 | 110,844 |
| Jun 24 | 849,763 | 2,040,377 | 194,251 | 867,071 | 230,522 | 261,407 | 155,290 | 127,804 | 93,314 | 97,826 |
| Jul 24 | 1,207,797 | 2,368,644 | 245,243 | 1,440,597 | 246,597 | 239,170 | 182,117 | 152,082 | 97,758 | 118,709 |
| Aug 24 | 684,583 | 1,249,913 | 119,140 | 973,795 | 98,690 | 118,617 | 96,496 | 103,441 | 48,227 | 73,516 |
| Sep 24 | 643,077 | 960,297 | 120,948 | 888,575 | 137,254 | 119,278 | 86,127 | 77,578 | 65,988 | 68,845 |
| Oct 24 | 1,229,696 | 1,792,558 | 276,353 | 1,315,319 | 153,338 | 229,443 | 190,933 | 170,818 | 203,881 | 234,297 |
| Nov 24 | 1,508,485 | 1,632,222 | 318,367 | 1,473,175 | 151,262 | 231,333 | 140,564 | 169,418 | 149,876 | 147,202 |
| Dec 24 | 1,541,521 | 2,249,550 | 222,819 | 1,431,644 | 126,604 | 192,765 | 129,014 | 148,430 | 127,050 | 159,874 |
| Jan 25 | 1,905,977 | 2,361,196 | 291,666 | 1,751,028 | 144,672 | 263,381 | 167,642 | 202,553 | 153,880 | 229,965 |
| Feb 25 | 1,788,635 | 1,923,578 | 288,920 | 1,541,819 | 151,379 | 292,140 | 165,832 | 214,332 | 187,758 | 163,670 |
| Mar 25 | 1,974,967 | 2,064,271 | 338,913 | 1,905,103 | 290,098 | 446,304 | 320,879 | 243,936 | 192,697 | 273,049 |
| Apr 25 | 1,895,581 | 2,464,997 | 300,294 | 1,953,495 | 256,142 | 405,240 | 283,150 | 237,494 | 162,568 | 231,607 |
| May 25 | 1,677,140 | 1,387,710 | 295,343 | 1,293,264 | 296,690 | 561,205 | 140,543 | 213,625 | 145,444 | 168,145 |
| Jun 25 | 1,280,080 | 1,439,811 | 234,678 | 1,384,752 | 257,188 | 369,840 | 136,492 | 167,997 | 138,010 | 125,299 |
| Jul 25 | 1,434,274 | 1,473,803 | 297,062 | 1,222,340 | 316,888 | 440,160 | 135,605 | 175,780 | 193,634 | 144,403 |
| Aug 25 | 1,478,557 | 1,415,481 | 746,448 | 1,250,420 | 315,659 | 409,106 | 137,917 | 178,239 | 256,175 | 134,488 |
| Sep 25 | 1,447,452 | 1,330,923 | 612,150 | 1,226,071 | 306,713 | 382,917 | 150,056 | 191,344 | 171,549 | 154,130 |
| Oct 25 | 1,361,176 | 1,360,857 | 584,219 | 1,124,485 | 175,789 | 345,040 | 144,281 | 187,304 | 212,587 | 158,989 |
| Nov 25 | 1,173,711 | 1,134,687 | 480,386 | 960,880 | 185,585 | 300,431 | 122,926 | 147,665 | 262,273 | 112,589 |
| Dec 25 | 1,166,374 | 1,067,818 | 476,284 | 829,461 | 164,963 | 247,713 | 108,987 | 149,876 | 272,947 | 104,927 |
| Jan 26 | 1,171,504 | 1,019,912 | 567,267 | 806,945 | 168,211 | 269,149 | 123,685 | 173,981 | 107,921 | 138,773 |
| Feb 26 | 881,704 | 780,107 | 565,717 | 601,907 | 165,252 | 233,123 | 123,515 | 143,479 | 110,566 | 116,457 |
Current Industry Hiring Ranking
Job posting volume in the most recent month
| Rank | Industry | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Healthcare | 743,161 |
| 2 | Hospitals and Health Care | 624,417 |
| 3 | Retail & Wholesale | 604,476 |
| 4 | Staffing and Recruiting | 462,654 |
| 5 | Technology, Information and Internet | 258,916 |
| 6 | Retail | 242,831 |
| 7 | IT Services and IT Consulting | 136,745 |
| 8 | Construction | 133,085 |
| 9 | Software Development | 119,024 |
| 10 | Manufacturing | 115,270 |
Healthcare remains the dominant force in US hiring, driven by chronic staffing shortages across hospitals, clinics, and home care providers. The combined volume of "Healthcare" and "Hospitals and Health Care" categories reflects the industry's enormous and persistent demand for nurses, physicians, therapists, and support staff.
Staffing and recruiting firms represent a large share of posting volume because they advertise positions on behalf of hundreds of client companies. The retail sector shows seasonal patterns, with spikes around the holiday season and back-to-school periods. Technology hiring, while lower in absolute volume than healthcare or retail, carries higher salary levels and represents some of the most competitive talent markets.
Canaria classifies industry based on employer company profiles linked to each job posting. Because different sources (Indeed, LinkedIn, ATS portals) use different industry taxonomies, related categories may appear separately. The raw data includes the original companyIndustry field, allowing users to build custom industry groupings suited to their analysis.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Which industry is hiring the most in 2026?
- Healthcare currently has the highest job posting volume with 743,161 postings in the most recent month. The top 3 industries by posting volume are Healthcare, Hospitals and Health Care, Retail & Wholesale.
- Which industries are growing in hiring?
- Industry hiring trends fluctuate month to month. Check the trend chart for the most current picture.
- How does Canaria classify industries?
- Industry classification is derived from the employer's company profile, matched against standard industry taxonomies. Canaria normalizes company names and links them to firmographic data including industry, size, and headquarters.
- Why do some similar industries appear separately?
- Industries like 'Healthcare' and 'Hospitals and Health Care' reflect different classification sources (e.g., Indeed vs LinkedIn). Canaria preserves source-level granularity. Users can merge categories using the companyIndustry field in the raw data.
Data sourced from publicly available job postings. Updated May 2026. Analysis by Canaria Inc.